


violet eyes

by pendules



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Domestic Fluff, First Kiss, Getting Together, Kittens, M/M, this is just as gross as it sounds sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-08
Updated: 2016-02-08
Packaged: 2018-05-19 04:12:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5953177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pendules/pseuds/pendules
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>"Is that a kitten?" he asks stupidly. And then, more suspiciously, "Why do you have a <i>kitten</i>?"</i>
</p><p>
  <i>He crosses his arms over his chest before he does something monumentally tactless like reach out and pet it (the kitten, obviously, not <i>Ronan</i>), rendering any further pretense at disgruntlement automatically invalid. It looks so <i>soft</i>, though, Jesus. (Even Ronan looks less sharp somehow, holding it. It's obviously a <i>magic</i> kitten.)</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"Wait, did you <i>dream</i> it?" he asks, eyebrows shooting up, before Ronan can answer.</i>
</p><p>Or: The one where Ronan shows up at St. Agnes in the middle of the night with a stray kitten and Adam falls in love (entirely against his will).</p>
            </blockquote>





	violet eyes

**Author's Note:**

> This is probably the most disgusting thing I've ever written. I'm disgusted with myself.

It's one in the morning and _someone's_ pounding on his door. 

Adam has a pretty good idea who, considering it literally couldn't be anyone else.

And then _someone's_ yelling. "Jesus Christ, Adam, open the fucking door."

He makes him wait two more minutes just on principle.

"I know you're not asleep. You have that World Hist. essay due tomorrow." He rolls his eyes at that. He's sure Ronan himself hadn't even considered doing the essay, but of course he keeps track of their homework assignments anyway, just so he can be a pain in the ass at Adam's convenience. 

He huffs a sigh before getting up from his makeshift desk and going over to let him in.

"For God's sake, Ronan, it's one in the —" he says, flinging the door open — and coming face-to-face with the ball of grey and white fluff that's currently residing in Ronan Lynch's hands.

He looks up from the little creature's impossibly large eyes to Ronan's sharper, piercing ones, his own eyes wide and stunned, knowing he looks completely caught off-guard and _hating_ it.

"Surprise," he says, sounding way too smug for someone holding a goddamn kitten. But then again, it's Ronan Lynch. His ability to be an asshole even when doing the least asshole-ish of things will never cease to amaze him.

"Is that a kitten?" he asks stupidly. And then, more suspiciously, "Why do you have a _kitten_?"

He crosses his arms over his chest before he does something monumentally tactless like reach out and pet it (the kitten, obviously, not _Ronan_ ), rendering any further pretense at disgruntlement automatically invalid. It looks so _soft_ , though, Jesus. (Even Ronan looks less sharp somehow, holding it. It's obviously a _magic_ kitten.)

"Wait, did you _dream_ it?" he asks, eyebrows shooting up, before Ronan can answer.

"I did not _dream_ it," he says, clearly articulating each word like Adam's an idiot. "I _found_ it." He shrugs, like it's a totally normal occurrence to show up at your friends' doors with randomly acquired kittens in the middle of the night.

"Where?" Adam asks, because if he doesn't keep talking, he's afraid he's going to grab the sweet, little thing out of Ronan's hands and literally never let it go.

"I was just — I was driving around and she was on the side of the road. I think someone abandoned her." A muscle twitches in Ronan's jaw, like he's harbouring violent thoughts about anyone who could leave an innocent, helpless creature to its own fate like this. Adam knows too well that it happens far too often. Something twinges in his heart, though, seeing the fierce look in Ronan's eyes, the way he holds her more protectively to his chest, imagining him stopping at the side of the road and coaxing her into his arms, getting her to trust him even when she was scared and alone. Treating her so tenderly the way he treats his baby brother and Chainsaw and the things he loves the most. Sometimes Adam wonders what it would be like, to have those hands touch him so softly, those hands he knows are equally capable of affection as violence.

"Good thing you found her, then," he says, more gently, and he can't meet his gaze. He swallows. "Okay, _fine_."

"Okay, fine, _what_?"

"You can come in, but only if I get to hold her."

Ronan grins and follows him inside. He isn't just carrying the kitten, Adam realises; he has a backpack that's bulging with an assortment of items — Adam recognises a multicoloured ball and a water bowl almost spilling out of the top where the zip's straining. 

He sets the bag on the floor and sits next to it instead of on Adam's bed. Adam slides down across from him, leaning back against his mattress.

"Here," Ronan says, slowly handing her over to him. He settles her in his lap and she curls into him, resting her head on his thigh as she looks up at him. It makes something in his stomach flutter, seeing the curiosity and trust in her gaze. 

"God, she's so _tiny_ ," Adam says, staring into her huge, eerie, almost-purple eyes and feeling hopelessly endeared despite himself. From how pleased Ronan's looking, he isn't doing a very good job at hiding it either.

"She's a _baby_ , Parrish."

"Are you keeping her?" Adam asks, distracted by her tiny paws on his leg and her precious, little face and the way her eyes squeeze shut when she lets out the most adorable yawn he's ever seen. She's going to fall asleep right there and he's not going to be able to move and his essay still needs some finishing touches, he thinks helplessly, but he almost doesn't care.

"I _want_ to," Ronan says seriously. "But I can't keep her at Monmouth, at least not for now, because Chainsaw's being...well, less than accommodating."

"Yeah?" Adam says, preoccupied with lightly scratching behind her ears as she makes the softest purring sounds.

"I think she's feeling threatened because I have a new girl in my life," Ronan says, and he can almost _hear_ the eye-roll.

Adam bites back a crack about how she probably doesn't have anything to worry about in that department, but he can't suppress his small smirk.

"Oh, so what are you —" he says, lifting his eyes to Ronan's face again, and it's almost painful to look away from her. " _No_ ," he tells him, almost on reflex. "She's not —" He _wants_ to, God, he wants to keep her more than anything. Even if it's wildly, insanely impractical.

"I don't have anyone else to ask," Ronan tells him soberly.

"Please, I'm sure you can pay a kitty sitter or something. Someone who can give her the attention she needs — Are there kitty _hotels_?" he asks, genuinely wondering.

"I — I _trust_ you," he says, quiet but deliberate. He sounds vulnerable now, the way he never does, so it has to be on purpose; Ronan's surprising capacity for empathy has always been more of a strength than a weakness to Adam. "I trust you with her."

Adam just looks at him for a few moments before he lets out a heavy sigh. "I don't have time to take care of a pet, Ronan," he says, knowing he can hear the regret in his voice. He wishes he could. Wishes he didn't have to be alone in this old, drafty building on cold, silent nights when Ronan's off doing whatever he does because he doesn't want to sleep. Wishes he had something warm and soft and _breathing_ to keep close. A tiny, steady heartbeat beating alongside his own, maybe making this cramped, run-down apartment feel a little more like home.

"It's just a couple days," Ronan says. "Until I figure out what to do with her. Or until Chainsaw learns to behave. I just need somewhere to keep her. I'll come over to feed her and everything. And you can call me if you need anything, anytime."

Adam shakes his head incredulously. He can't believe he's eighteen years old and he's already considering co-parenting an infant with Ronan Lynch. He really needs to learn how to say no to him, someday, somehow. But it's not going to be today, he realises, especially not with a sweet, lonesome kitten involved.

"Okay, fine," he says after a moment, knowing he never really stood a chance. "She can stay here. But not for _you_. Only because she's so lovely."

Ronan smiles at him, almost unnervingly earnest. Then, he gets up and starts efficiently turning his small room into an adequate home for a small creature: sets up the litter box against the wall just next to the bathroom door, puts out the water and food bowls, scatters toys all over the apartment floor.

"You're already spoiling her," Adam scolds him, but his mouth curves into an amused smile.

"Please, like you haven't been fawning over her since you laid eyes on her," Ronan counters, smirking. He looks almost proud, though. And Adam can't exactly refute that statement with how she's been snoozing in his lap for the last fifteen minutes while his leg has gone completely numb under him and he hasn't torn his eyes from her sleeping form, her little chest rising and falling under his fingers, marvelling over the fact of her perfect existence.

Ronan sits next to him now, reaching over to stroke his fingers over her sleeping head.

"Does she have a name?" Adam asks suddenly, head jerking up.

"Not yet. I mean, I thought —"

"You're not naming her after a power tool," Adam cuts him off immediately.

"Well, _you_ can name her — I mean, if you want," he says, sounding strangely nervous. "But nothing dumb."

"What do you consider 'dumb'?" Adam asks with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't know. Just nothing stupid, okay."

"What about — Sparkle?"

"Fuck off, Parrish," he says, elbowing him in the side. 

Adam bursts into giggles that he quickly stifles in case he wakes Sparkle — okay, no, that's not right.

"What about — Violet?" he says, thinking about her unusual, deep purple eyes. They almost could belong to a dream creature. Even if she isn't one, she's still undeniably _Ronan's_. It somehow makes perfect sense that he would be the saviour of this strange, beautiful kitten.

Ronan tilts his head, considers it, and then gives a half-nod of approval, looking down at her, soft fondness in his eyes. When he meets Adam's eyes, that look isn't completely gone.

A few oddly charged moments of silence pass between them.

Then he says, abruptly, "I should go. You should finish your essay. And actually get some sleep." He gets to his feet, looking unsure about leaving for only half a second, before grabbing his bag and zipping it shut.

As if sensing Ronan's impending departure, Violet stirs in his arms. He carefully gets to his feet too, clutching her against him, so he can let him out.

"You could always stay," Adam says, opening the door for him, trying not to sound too hopeful.

"Nah, I'm just gonna be a nuisance," he admits, shaking his head. Adam wonders when was the last time he actually _slept_ ; he hasn't spent the night since the week before at least and God knows he rarely sleeps when he's at Monmouth. 

He kind of wants to grab his wrist and tell him he doesn't care, that he hates the thought of him driving around all night alone, sleepless and wired. He's sure he's actually going insane. It's probably just the kitten-induced endorphins. That has to be it.

"Thanks for — you know," Ronan continues, awkwardly, eyes falling to the small bundle of sleepy kitten in his arms. He can tell, then, how much it actually means to him. That it's more than just a simple favour. 

"It's no problem, really," Adam assures him.

"Be good for Parrish, okay," Ronan says, dropping a quick, almost instinctive kiss on the top of her little head before slipping out the room.

He sets her down when she fully wakes up and starts wriggling against him after Ronan's gone. He expects her to be skittish in his absence, but she already seems firmly attached to Adam. God, he has a feeling this is going to turn into a _problem_. 

He finishes his essay while she explores his apartment, taking a particularly keen interest in some crumpled balls of paper that had overflowed from his bin, chasing them around for a bit. He snorts, glancing over at Ronan's fancy, probably expensive, but completely ignored toys.

She curls up next to him on his bed, tucking her head against his ribcage, and he turns the light off.

For the first time in as long as he can remember, he isn't worried about tomorrow.

*

Adam keeps her for a week, and he bears the scars of it. Her claws are surprisingly sharp, but he should've expected that given her owner. She's comfortable with Adam but still not very good with being startled or being left alone. When he left her the first morning, he could hear her whimpering and scratching at the door all the way down the steps; it pretty much broke his heart and it took every bit of willpower not to go back to her. But it got better in the days after that.

It's almost been _too_ good, honestly. He hates the idea of giving her back to Ronan. He's gotten used to having her with him: their daily routine of her demanding attention while he gets dressed in the morning, putting water in her bowl, feeding her, even cleaning out her litter box; Ronan showing up when he gets home to bring her treats and play with her and record videos of her doing mundane things, claiming "she's going to be fucking famous, Parrish"; her curling up on his chest at the end of the day, a warm weight that somehow makes it feel lighter.

Ronan calls and says he's gotten the Barns ready and he's going to keep her there, that he'll be coming to get her that evening, and it takes everything he has to say okay without betraying how utterly crestfallen he is.

He looks at her, casually pawing at a stray, balled-up sock on the floor next to his bed, and thinks, _I can't believe you made me fall in love with you this easily._

*

Ronan shows up with a giant bag and says, "Let me get all this crap out of here," before attempting to haphazardly shove everything he'd left there in the past few days into it.

Adam stands in the corner, twisting his hands together as he watches him, until he can't keep it in anymore. "Wait," he says, voice slightly hoarse. "Just wait a second."

"What?" Ronan says, looking up at him, confused. 

"Just put the kitty toys down for a second." 

Ronan does as he's told and comes over to him. 

Even Violet seems to discern the palpable tension between them, letting go of the plush mouse she's been chewing on, tail standing straight up, suddenly alert.

"What's up?" Ronan asks cautiously.

"I'm just — I like having her here. A lot," he says quietly, gaze dropping to the floor. "I know she's _yours_ and I don't have any right to —"

" _Oh_ ," Ronan says. "You can still come see her anytime you want. I mean —"

"Yeah, I know, but it's not gonna be the same. I just — I'm gonna miss her." He knows he sounds completely pathetic; it's not like he's a goddamn child, for fuck's sake. Ronan's probably going to start laughing at him at any minute.

But he just doesn't say anything for a moment like he's steadying himself.

"I didn't just bring her here because of Chainsaw," Ronan admits finally, making Adam look up sharply. "I wanted — I thought you'd like having her here. I _wanted_ you to —"

"You wanted me to _have_ her?" Adam asks, bemused.

"Yeah — I mean, _no_ , I thought — I thought we could — I thought she could be — you know, _ours_. Somehow," he says, shrugging, averting his own eyes now.

"Oh, my God," Adam says, equal parts flattered and wonderstruck, going red. "Are you asking me to _adopt a kitten with you_?"

"It doesn't have to be — I mean, _God_ , it's not like —"

"It's not like _what_?" Adam asks, challengingly.

"It doesn't have to be a big deal, okay?" he grits out, clenching his jaw. "We could just forget about it."

"So — you _don't_ want to?" Adam asks, feeling inexplicably disappointed.

"I _want_ to," he blurts out. "I want you to keep — to keep looking like _that_." His voice cracks at the end of the sentence, like he's said too much.

"Like _what_?" Adam asks, tentative but expectant.

"Like —" Ronan takes a deep breath before reaching out and tracing his thumb lightly over Adam's bottom lip, almost reverently. " _Happy_. She makes you happy."

"It's not just —" He swallows before continuing. "She's not the only one, you know," Adam says quietly. 

He takes Ronan's hand in his own, presses it to his heart instead, so he can feel how fast it's racing. From anticipation. From exhilaration. Just for him. Just because of this. Nothing else.

And then Ronan's leaning in and kissing him, just as gentle as his touch was, and warm bliss floods through his entire body until he can't think about anything else. It feels like the belonging he never expected, like a relief he didn't know he was waiting for, like clashing and colliding with each other for so long until something just clicks into place and finding, amazingly, that everything fits right where it's supposed to, like it was always meant to. It feels absolutely, undoubtedly _right_. Like there never was any other potential outcome.

He's still not sure he believes in fate, but he never counted on the ridiculous, magical, stubborn impossibility of Ronan Lynch either. Of both of them, together. Of any of this.

He's smiling harder than he ever has when he pulls away, resting their foreheads against each other, and he's pretty sure Ronan's is matching his perfectly.

When he kisses him again, arms winding around his neck, Violet curls herself around his ankle like she can feel it too.

*

They lie down on Adam's bed after, his head on Ronan's chest as Violet sleeps against his own in the small, cozy niche carved out between their bodies. 

"She really loves you," Ronan says, stroking his hair, and it's more than just a casual observation. The _She's not the only one_ is implied this time; he's almost grateful he doesn't say it, though, because he thinks his heart might burst if it had to deal with anything more right now.

"Think your possessive bird is gonna approve of me?" Adam asks with a small smile, feeling too lazy and content to bother attempting to conceal his accent.

"Well, she'll just have to fucking deal with it," Ronan says, closing his eyes, looking just as content.

**Author's Note:**

> [come yell at me on tumblr](http://bloodravenking.tumblr.com) | [reblog if you liked it!](http://bloodravenking.tumblr.com/post/138936202974/violet-eyes-pendules-raven-cycle-maggie)


End file.
